Photo: Chris Smith
IndyCar 2014 points leader Will Power has a name my wife refused to believe was real. He’s regarded by many as aloof, even arrogant.
His behavior after Race 1 in Houston this weekend would suggest otherwise. After a day in which he failed to make it out of the first round of qualifying, started the race 18th (his worst spot on the grid in more than a year), and finished P14, he was leaving the team paddock at about 6 pm. Half a dozen families, each with anywhere from...

Photo: Chris Jones
Colombian drivers Carlos Huertas, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Carlos Munoz finished 1-2-3 in Race 1 of the 2014 Grand Prix of Houston, the first time three Colombian drivers have stood on a podium at the same event in a major motorsports series.
Montoya gave a very boisterous post-race interview, clearly pleased to return to the podium in his first year back to open-wheel racing following a 7-year sojourn with NASCAR. Rookie Munoz reflected on what it meant to be part of day i...

Photo: Chris Jones
Helio Castronves won pole for Race 2 of the Grand Prix of Houston, tying him for fourth on the all-time pole list with former Team Penske driver Rick Mears. Rookie Mikhail Aleshin will start on the front row next to Castroneves. Aleshin has led three races so far in his debut campaign. He was the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 champion and finished 12th in that series last year. When asked to comment on Sebastien Bourdais’ remarks that he would like to stay away from ...

Photo: Chris Jones
Simon Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves will start on the front row for Race 1 of the Grand Prix of Houston later today. Luca Filippi continued to shine in his return to IndyCar, qualifying fourth next to Scott Dixon.
Pagenaud, who enters the weekend fourth in the points standings behind Will Power, Castroneves, and Ryan Hunter-Reay, won the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis earlier this year. Both he and Castroneves have five Top 5 finishes in the eight races run s...

Photo: Joe Skibinski
The track temperature as Practice 2 began was 115 deg. F. IndyCar authorized a modification to provide additional cooling to the cockpit using templates provided by Dallara to cut an opening in the nose cap of the front wing assembly. “Fortunately, it’s not supposed to be a bazillion degrees, but the humidity is what makes it difficult,” said Sebastien Bourdais (KVSH Racing, Chevrolet). “Any air flow can only help.”
Rookie Mikhail Ales...

Photo: Chris Jones
The Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston will mark the second of three doubleheaders on the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule. Drivers will contest a pair of 90-lap races Saturday and Sunday on the 1.69-mile temporary street circuit at NRG Park.
With wins at St. Petersburg and Belle Isle, Will Power (Team Penske, Chevrolet) finds himself atop the season point standings. The Australian claimed a win in the second Houston race in 2013 and is the only driver to f...